Hydroxyapatite scaffolds constituting highly oriented crystals derived from synthetic precursors by hydrothermal reactions

Abstract

A series of hydroxyapatite scaffolds having oriented crystal morphologies were fabricated through hydrothermal exchange reactions of tri calcium phosphate porous precursors in different solutions by the regulation of reaction parameters. The newly developed scaffolds have unique crystal morphologies and a preferred orientation with hybrid micro and nano dimensional structures such as fibres, rods, tubes and flowers. These crystals of apatite grow in the a(b)-plane of the hydroxyapatite lattice with orientation along the c-axis. The developed scaffolds were subjected to in vitro bioactivity evaluation in simulated body fluid (SBF). Physicochemical characterisation of the materials were performed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. This study shows the transformation of a lower calcium phosphate material to a fast resorbing hydroxyapatite scaffold with a preferred orientation along the c-axis and a higher aspect ratio of crystals which is intended for use in the field of dentistry and orthopaedics as a scaffold for tissue regeneration.